Activities and cooperation. 1. The Parties recognise the importance of cooperating to achieve progress in reducing barriers to SMEs’ access to their respective markets.
2. Cooperation between the Parties shall take the form of exchange of information and dialogue on issues of mutual interest and be channelled through SME contact points.
3. To this end, each Party shall, upon entry into force of this Agreement, promptly designate a SME contact point and notify the other Parties of the contact details as well as, thereafter, of any changes to its SME contact point.
4. Taking into account their SMEs’ specific needs in the implementation of this Agreement, SME contact points shall seek to:
(a) exchange SME-related information, including any matter brought to their attention by SMEs in their trade and investment activities with another Party such as non-tariff measures adversely affecting trade outcomes for SMEs;
(b) exchange policy experiences for SMEs, including in the development of digital windows that facilitate the efforts of SMEs to establish operations in another Party, as well as in other assistance programs and tools;
(c) ensure that the information referred to in Article 102 (Information exchange and transparency) is up-to-date and relevant for SMEs, and recommend any additional information that the Parties may publish; and
(d) consider any other matters of interest to SMEs.
5. Each Party may raise any matter arising in the activities of the SME contact points with the Joint Committee.
6. The SME contact points may cooperate with experts, external organisations and SME stakeholders, as appropriate, in carrying out their activities.
Activities and cooperation. The Areas of Cooperation are as follows:
